Marvel Premier Shadowbox cards

I had a choice as to which characters I wanted to work with on this project. Howard the Duck was available and so was Iceman. I never missed an episode of Spiderman and His Amazing Friends when I was younger and c'mon, Howard the Duck. Life's simple decisions!

FINAL ART

Howard the Duck in Claude Monet's - Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies

This image is fully painted in Photoshop. I did not use any filters or copy and paste source imagery to achieve the digital version of this classic painting. I used a digital brush that mimics an impressionistic brush stroke and painted the image using same techniques incorporated by Claude Monet.

DETAILS

Close ups to show actual brush strokes.

SHADOWBOX PLANES

Because the final product would be printed as a shadowbox card, I was asked to paint 3 different levels into the art. Areas that were not visible in the original art also had to be painted, so it was key to familiarize myself with the techniques used by the Monet so I could replicate the style. Each level is then printed as individual pieces and assembled in the shadowbox format. This will give the false illusion of 3-dimensional planes in a 2-dimensional image.

FINAL ART

Iceman in Utagawa Hiroshige's - Night Snow at Kambara

This image was pretty difficult because unlike the Howard painting, it was easier to distinguish the graphically drawn elements produced by Hiroshige's style. Because I was asked to recreate the painting as close as possible, I challenged myself to address each and every detail. This included the little dark textures on the foreground tree, the scratches in the sky and the watercolor wash that has inconsistant value blends. It might look simple enough but reproducing this image in a digital environment made me want to rip my hair out.

DETAILS

Close ups to show actual brush strokes.

SHADOWBOX PLANES

Because the final product would be printed as a shadowbox card, I was asked to paint 3 different levels into the art, just like I did for Howard. Because this was more complex I gave the client more than 3 levels that could be flattend to their desired scope. Each level is then printed as individual pieces and assembled in the shadowbox format. This will give the false illusion of 3-dimensional planes in a 2-dimensional image.